How to Determine Land Ownership

The first step to buying undeveloped land is to determine who owns the property.

Buying property for personal or investment purposes is a multi-layered and expensive process. Some of the expense is to pay for professionals who research the title of the land to determine ownership and insure a clear title. This legwork can be done by you if you are willing to spend the time and assume the risk involved if you make a mistake. Remember that anyone with a claim to the property can stop or reverse a sale at any time, so take your time and research ownership as thoroughly as possible.

Instructions

1. Research the physical address of the property on your favorite search engine. Look closely for any notices of short sale or foreclosure in the results. Look for the school district, as this will tell you what courthouse you will need to visit.

2. Go to the court, town/city hall or county administration building that governs the area where the property is located. Find the real estate assessments office that holds the records you need to review.

3. Look through the physical documents, plat books and related materials to learn about the property. Watch for ownership, liens, status of loans and contact addresses.

4. Contact the owner to determine the status of the property. Ask about liens and loans that you know about and try to find out about ones that may not have been in the official documents.

5. Contact the lien holders, past and present, to find out the status of the liens. Ask them to supply you with a simple letter of confirmation telling you that they do or do not still have a claim to the property you are interested in purchasing.

Tips & Warnings

• A title company will do the legwork for you and supply you with a report of ownership and liens for the property you choose.

References

• Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Co.: What is Title Insurance?
• Geology: Basic Information About Mineral, Surface, Oil and Gas Rights
• Los Angeles City Clerk: Land Records Division